


Weightless

by Starley (eliasdarcychere)



Category: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Genre: Developing Relationship, M/M, POV Third Person Limited, Purple Prose, can be considered as a sequel, free-write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25374250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliasdarcychere/pseuds/Starley
Summary: "Weightless…he feels weightless."orBartz wants to show Cloud everything.
Relationships: Bartz Klauser/Cloud Strife
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Weightless

**Author's Note:**

> Hi,  
> This is just another idea that was in my head for a while so I decided to write it out. It may had also been a distraction from completing my "Forever, Every Day" story. I will get to it as soon as I can. I have been distracted lately, too caught up in my head. I reflect too much, I guess. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story. It's somewhat a continuation to my "Home" story. It's just something that was in my head for a while. Also, I'm trying to explore my writing so this story might be a little purple prose-ish.
> 
> As always, all characters in this story belong to Square Enix.

Weightless…he feels weightless.

The words seem to pour out of his mouth one day: easily and smoothly as waking up from a pleasant dream. “I know a place where the sky meets the earth,” Bartz says. A breath or two later, he asks Cloud. “May I show you?”

“Yes.” It is the fastest he has ever heard Cloud respond.

A simple answer and it leads to this moment.

It’s quiet when they arrive, not many people visit the salt flat around this time. He thinks it’s better that way. Bartz slips off his shoes, motions for Cloud to do the same, and takes a couple of steps forward. The water caresses his feet, and he breathes in, taking it all in. The salt flat is just how he remembers it; the sky is bright, infinite, and seems just as close enough to touch. A brief showing of heaven from Earth. A sense of nostalgia overtakes him as he remembers the first time visiting the salt flat.

Bartz was a young boy then, just a few months after his mother passed. His father took him here to show him one of the wonders of the world. He was afraid at first, the sky was too close, too scary to look at, and he felt he was going to fall. But then his father told him the sky here was like a sneak peek of heaven, a place where his mother was now. He found comfort in his words, saw the salt flat in a different light, and the sky didn’t look so scary.

This is the first time he has visited the salt flat since then. After his father passed, Bartz never found a reason to come here. The pain of losing both of his parents was just too much, and it was much easier to bury that pain and explore the world. As time went on, that pain lessened, and he matured quite a bit. Then he met Cloud, fell in love, and his whole world started to change. And to be able to have Cloud now despite the impossible, Bartz just wants to show him everything starting with this.

Bartz turns towards Cloud, who is just a few steps behind him. Cloud is taking it in as well, amazed, marveling at the surrealism of it all. He makes a note to himself to thank Lenna and her handmaids for dressing Cloud for this. They dressed Cloud in an all-white outfit: a button-down tunic and some slacks with gold bracelets on his wrists. It suits him well, flattering his figure, which is something Bartz rarely gets to see when Cloud wears his usual bulky attire. He takes another look, a smile tugs at his lips. It suits Cloud really well.

Cloud then shifts his attention to him, becoming red in the face. “Hey,” He says, tugging at the hems of his shirt a bit, and waves.

“Hey,” Bartz waves back and then moves in closer.

 _Beautiful_. Bartz thinks Cloud is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen, small, delicate, and lovely. To Bartz, Cloud’s beauty even rivals the heavenly sky above them.

It’s a stark contrast to when he first met Cloud all those years ago in that strange yet temporary world. Cloud was calm, cool, and collected, always kept his distance, only saying something when the moment struck him. Cloud always tried to put up a brave face, but his eyes – Bartz noticed after a while of getting to know him – never lie; it always told a different story. His eyes always showed the vulnerability that Cloud always tried to bury deep inside and keep to himself. And there was something truly endearing about Cloud’s vulnerability. Even more so to be a witness of it. It’s Cloud’s way of showing trust, that he’s comfortable, that he can rest. Bartz is protective of that trust, carrying it in his heart, the heart that Cloud has easily captured time and time again.

“So, what do you think?!” Bartz exclaims, arms outstretched, showing off the scenery behind him.

“Magnificent.” Cloud takes a step forward, and then another. He stretches, lifting his hand to the sky. “You can almost touch the sky here.”

“Yes, it’s one of the reasons why this place is famous.”

“I bet it is…” Cloud hums, the corners of his lips turn upward to a small smile, and his eyes light up a bit. He is wearing that look on his face, that amused face that comes up when Cloud wants to tease him. “I find it funny, though. Weren’t you the one always saying the sky was scary?”

Bartz playfully rolls his eyes and chuckles. “Yeah, but not this one.” He glances up at the sky. It’s bright, blue, and clear; it’s almost easy to touch. “The sky here is like a sneak peek of heaven. That’s what my dad had told me when he brought me here. Told me it was where my mom was at.”

“So, you replace it with a happy thought?”

“That’s an easier way to explain it, yeah. You always know the right words to say, Cloud.”

Cloud shrugs. “I guess… I’m just trying to do the same, create happier thoughts…”

Bartz frowns, eyebrows are knitted in concern because Cloud seems unsure of himself. He understands it too. It’s the grief and pain that come and go like waves moving back and forth to the sea. He has his and Cloud has his. And the journey of healing; well, it is like the wind. It doesn’t stay there; grief and pain, that is. It’s freeing. It’s liberating. It’s weightless. It gives hope.

Bartz goes to Cloud, caresses Cloud’s left arm, remembers the tale of Cloud’s illness. The tension in Cloud’s posture starts to go down and Bartz breathes. He also remembers Cloud saying he was given hope again. “We can create happier thoughts together. Weren’t you the one who said you weren’t alone?”

Cloud lifts his head and meets his eyes. “Of course. I have you.”

And Bartz has him too. Cloud doesn’t even have to ask. Bartz has Cloud time and time again. “Always.” He says, reaching for his hands, holds them, and swings their connecting hands.

Cloud goes along with it. “Bartz?”

“Yeah?”

“I know you didn’t bring me here to have a heart to heart.”

“Of course not.” It’s much more than that. It always has been. He lets go of Cloud’s hands, then places his left hand on Cloud’s chest, and listen to the beating of his heart. Cloud wraps his hand around Bartz’s wrist and waits for Bartz to confess. To have Cloud now despite the impossible is like a dream, a miracle even. Bartz wants to show him everything, but Cloud is everything. Cloud is precious, Cloud is important, and Bartz wants him to know that. “I just want to show you everything.”

“Sounds like a commitment.”

“Maybe it is.”

Cloud smiles. It’s times like this where Bartz understand why Cloud is named after puffs in the sky. The sunlight falls on him, his hair is light, and his eyes are bright and blue. Cloud reminds him of the sky above them, and Bartz is not afraid at all.

No, not at all.

He feels weightless.

“Well, my answer will always be yes,” Cloud confesses after a while, turning his hand around so it can fit perfectly in Bartz’s hand. He is still smiling.

Commitment…His father taught him a lot of things, practical things. He taught Bartz how to explore, to hunt and prepare meals, to fight and protect himself. But his father was never able to teach Bartz how to become an adult. It was something that Bartz learned on his own years later, through his journey to save the world. Still, commitment is something new, was never taught or learned. His father was committed to his mother, he’s committed to protecting the crystals along with his friends. Perhaps, commitment is something that can’t be taught, it’s just an act of doing, a decision that only an adult can make. Bartz is glad that it’s with Cloud.

If he can do it all over again, Bartz will choose Cloud over and over again.

Bartz brings their connected hands to his lips and press forward. “I know.” He whispers as he lets go. Commitment is still something new, but he knows there’s always a symbol, a mark, to represent it. Then, he reaches in his pocket, pulls out his protect ring, and slips the ring on Cloud’s finger.

And Cloud’s eyes widen. “This is…” Cloud leaves the response open-ended.

It’s a promise.

It’s hope.

It’s a commitment.

“It’s everything,” Bartz says, and it’s true, shining through.

Cloud stands up on the balls of his feet and kisses his left cheek. “It’s always yes.”

Weightless… Bartz feels weightless. It's almost as if he’s flying. 

**Author's Note:**

> Right now, they are in Bartz's world, but it's not permanent. I was thinking about Inuyasha when it came to the world traveling thing. In other words, they can visit each other worlds.
> 
> The salt flat is based on Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia. There's no salt flat in FFV, but there are some nice humble towns and pianos.


End file.
